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Listen to this articleA mobile florist has opened a retail location in Huntington’s downtown at 333 Main Street.
Owners Jaclyn Rutigliano and Marc Iervolino opened Hometown Flower Co. over the weekend, coinciding with Small Business Saturday.
“It’s intentional,” Rutigliano said in a written statement on opening a brick-and-mortar small business on Small Business Saturday.
“When we launched the brand, we did so on Mother’s Day because of the significance to the flower industry,” she added. “We’re doing the same thing now. We really believe in the power of a small town’s Main Street retail culture.”
Rutigliano, a third-generation florist, said she and Iervolino source from Long Island farms as well as greenhouses in New York and New Jersey in the cold weather to support local growers, and educate consumers about flowers available nearby.
This initiative is rooted in the company’s days as a mobile florist where the focus stemmed “this idea of not being your traditional florist and being more sustainable, even from a business perspective,” Rutigliano said. “We could test out new markets, create unexpected experiences, and keep our inventory tight.”
And rather than roses, which are not grown in abundance regionally, Rutigliano said the partners are putting the spotlight on “the more unknown varieties that people can’t get everywhere.”
Also on tap are floral workshops and events, including children’s birthday parties. The shop is also offering a “DIY flower bar,” which depending on the season, will rotate between dried and fresh flowers. Here, people can design a bud vase or bouquet to bring home. Referring to this offering as “flower therapy,” Rutigliano said “It’s just a little something to disconnect with technology and reconnect with nature and art.”
Ultimately, she hopes to add a coffee bar, or wine bar, or both, providing an opportunity for customers to come in and sip a beverage “and immerse themselves in nature even while working” on a laptop.
“We want to bring people in, but not in the traditional way you may have come to expect with flowers,” Rutigliano said.
She added that “countless studies agree that when you surround yourself with nature, it is immensely beneficial for mental health. Our goal is to create unique experiences that bring people in and experience this firsthand for themselves.”
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